Phoenix Ranger Featherman R
by keeping.hope
Summary: Souji has always been good friends with Yosuke, but things are about to change. For a reason that he cannot explain, Souji makes an advance, and it is neither accepted, nor rejected. Will these two ever find a happy ending? Yosuke/Protagonist, Yukiko/Protagonist (One-sided). Rated T just to be safe. *WARNING* This is a slash fanfiction (Boy/Boy), don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1 - Unfortunate Beginnings

It was a beautiful day for work: overcast and rainy, as it often was in Inaba. Souji was contentedly buttoning up his shirt, as he thought about how the day would play out. He was very cautious when it came to love, and didn't want his small crush for Yosuke to get noticed, though he'd been dropping hints left and right. He all but vomited his feelings up in a colourful mess, which would have taken a lot of cleaning up… unless Yosuke didn't mind the mess. Didn't mind if everybody saw. He could almost taste him on his lips… the moment was drawing nearer and nearer. He pulled on his shoes and left his room.

"Where are you going in this weather?" Dojima asked.

"Junes. Yosuke needs help with inventory" he replied.

"Well, just be back before dinner. We're having soup- that is, if I can figure out how to make it. Nanako offered to do it for me, but… well, I want to try harder. Speaking of Nanako, don't forget you promised to buy Nanako a Featherman R action figure next time you went to Junes" he said.

Souji nodded and headed out the door. The rain was coming down in a slight drizzle, but his hair was still dampening- the white darkening into a darker gray. Soon he could see the outline of Junes through the mist and rain. Christmas lights were hung up outside, for sale.

He walked inside, and felt a warm breeze. He felt the heat begin to rid the cold of the winter air from his body, and he sighed in contentment. He sidled over to the inventory room and crept inside. Yosuke was sitting on a pile of crates with a demented look on his face.

"If I see one more tomato, I will kill somebody" Yosuke said.

Souji grimaced at his surroundings. "Where can I start?" he asked tentatively.

"Anywhere you can…" Yosuke choked out.

They started to dig through the boxes, and soon began to feel very hopeless. As one box was moved out, it seemed that two more magically appeared.

"We're never gonna finish!" Yosuke cried.

"Hey, we're halfway done" he said, trying to be optimistic.

"Alright then, let's keep going…" Yosuke said, unenthusiastically.

They moved quicker than before, but the task was quickly becoming mundane. Souji was beginning to think of ways to kill himself in ways that would look like accidents, when he looked around, seeing with normal eyes for the first time in a long time.

"We're done" he said, amazed.

"Yeah… we are. Hey, you want to come over? I think we have some food" Yosuke asked.

Souji hesitated. "Sure, I'll come" he said finally.

"Great, just let me clock out" Yosuke said, grinning.

Yosuke did as he said he would, and they left the twinkling lights of Junes behind. As they walked, Souji tried to expel all thoughts from his mind, knowing that they would all make the situation about a thousand times more awkward. Yosuke unlocked the door and led them inside, explaining that his parents were still working overtime at Junes. Souji mentally kicked himself for all of the images that popped into his mind.

"Nothing…" Yosuke said disappointedly, after looking in the kitchen for only a moment.

"That's too bad" Souji said, moving next to him.

Souji tried to think rationally, but gave up eventually and let himself move. Before either of them could say or do anything, he tilted the other boy's head toward him and pressed their lips gently together. Yosuke's eyes bulged out of his head momentarily. He moved closer, then- so close that he could feel the other's heat on him. Yosuke pulled back slightly to look at him.

"You should go" Yosuke whispered.

"What? Why? I mean, that wasn't supposed to be-" he started.

"It's okay, I just… I need to think" Yosuke said.

Souji nodded, and moved to the door. He left quietly and walked swiftly through the streets toward his house. He was so stupid… things like that only happened in the movies. He looked up at the sky as he walked. The rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared, so the stars were out. He ran the events through his mind over and over until he got home.

"Hey! Just in time for dinner, you must be starving" Dojima said with a chuckle.

"Oh, wow! A Featherman R! Thanks, Big Bro!" Nanako said, grabbing the action figure and hugging it.

"You're welcome" he said with a smile.

They settled down for dinner and began to eat. Dojima had surely tried his very best, but even though the soup was clearly store-bought with clear instructions, he'd mucked it up. Souji still complimented it, however, trying to boost his ego as well as he could. Souji sat there and brooded as he finished his soup.

"So, how was inventory?" Dojima asked innocently.

"It ought to be illegal, you should look into it" he answered.


	2. Chapter 2 - Rooftop Poignance

_**Okay, let's try this one more time. Don't you guys love automatic updates on your computer? Ones that your computer doesn't warn you about? Because I certainly do. Anyway, that was quite some hiatus I was just on with this fic. Well, at least it's up and running again. I will try to get it updating fairly regularly for those of you who read this. So, in this chapter, we have more troubles in the Bromance department. No interaction between them, sadly, but we need to set this up properly. Yukiko is here to help our wonderful, and moody, protagonist through his issues. Enjoy!**_

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><p>The next morning was a bit of a blur, though he would never admit that openly. Souji had woken up, groggy from the small amount of sleep he had gotten the night before. He groaned as his eyes slipped open, but resigned to the simple fact that Nanako would have a fit if he didn't go down to breakfast. He stumbled out of bed, and quickly dressed in his school uniform. By the time he had gotten each button done, he was feeling much more awake. At this point, due to this fact, he was able to walk down the hall to the washroom with his eyes fully open.<p>

He sighed defeatedly, as he ran a comb through his hair. As he went to brushing his teeth, he began to think to himself. Why had he acted the way he had? Perhaps it had been the atmosphere, but... somehow he thought it was something more. He hadn't felt at all oppressed by the mood - and even if he had, that wasn't a reason to... well, to do what he had done. He shook his head slightly, finishing up.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he buttoned his jacket up: it was a nervous habit. He would likely be buttoning, unbuttoning, and rebuttoning the stupid thing all day long. He sat down for breakfast; Nanako had made toast. The food looked particularly appetizing that morning, as it promised him normalcy. He had not felt normal for, perhaps, twenty-four hours, and the thought was scary. He was afraid of what this might mean for him. Would he never feel normal again? He sighed, clearing his mind as he reached over to take a slice of the toast. As he buttered it, he tried a smile. The attempt was fruitless.

"How did you sleep?" Nanako asked him.

"Fine," he lied. "How about you?"

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><p>After his first class - in which Kashiwagi had all but molested him for falling asleep - Souji was thoroughly<br>exhausted. He wished fleetingly that she had let him sleep longer. Even if that meant... He halted this train of thought  
>instantly. As he walked up to the roof for Lunch, he swiftly unbuttoned his jacket. He opened the double doors that led to<br>the open rooftop. As he passed a very groovy-looking kid, he nodded a hello. He sat down on the ledge at the edge, and  
>leaned heavily against the chain-link fence.<p>

He had forgotten to make a lunch the night before; too tired, perhaps. It was heavily clouded, but it had not yet  
>begun to rain, or snow. He glanced around at his surroundings, expecting a pot of gold to fall right out of the sky and<br>strike him dead. It was December, and if such a miracle could occur, then certainly another could. As he was glancing at  
>the door, he saw a familiar face: Yukiko.<p>

The snow had come after all. He smiled ruefully at both his pun, and the fact that she was likely going to sit with  
>him. He wanted to mope in peace, but it was clear that she wasn't going to allow that, when she saw him. She had noticed<br>him immediately, and walked over slowly to sit beside him. As she settled herself down on the ledge beside him, smoothed  
>out her skirt, and placed her small bag between them, Souji coughed under his breath. She pulled four, small rice balls out<br>of the bag, and handed one to him. She picked one up herself, and took a bite.

"How are you?" she asked, after swallowing.

"... Fine," he responded with hesitation.

He unwrapped the item carefully, bringing it to his lips and taking a bite. He chewed mechanically, and swallowed  
>slowly - deliberately. He kept his mind completely blank, focusing instead on eating his food. It seemed that Yukiko could<br>read minds sometimes, and this... this was not a thing she could find out about.

"You sure?" she tried.

He paused for a moment to think, noticing her sidelong glance at him from his peripheral vision. He could tell that  
>she cared about him a lot, and wanted desperately to help. He finished the small rice ball before answering, buying himself<br>more time. He just wasn't ready to divulge this piece of information.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he replied.

She nodded to herself, perhaps wondering whether he was trying to convince her, or himself. She didn't comment on it,  
>because she knew that it would just upset him. He was well-aware of this fact, and didn't appreciate it at the moment. It<br>was completely irrational, but he couldn't think straight with such a huge burden on his back. He wasn't even sure how he  
>felt about the brunette quite yet. Why had he done that? He was suddenly very frustrated with himself for going on his<br>impulses, and perhaps ruining a wonderful friendship with a really cool guy.

His face showed almost none of this. He was skilled at hiding his emotions, and did it almost sub-consciously. The  
>only signs that showed that he was bothered by something were slight. He sighed nearly inaudibly, and there was a slight<br>crease in his forehead. She knew what this meant, and sighed, albeit more audibly than he had.

"Souji, I can tell something is wrong," she said.

"And I told you that I am f-" he began.

"Yosuke told me what happened," she interrupted.

"Oh..." he trailed off.

He rubbed his forehead, feeling the beginning of a migraine coming on. He wasn't ready to have this conversation with  
>anyone just yet. The feelings were still so new and unknown; he wasn't sure what had happened yet. How was he supposed to<br>explain his emotions to someone, when he didn't even know what they were himself?

"And I just wanted to tell you that it's okay to have feelings for people - because I know how you are," she told him  
>very quietly.<p>

She placed her second, half-eaten rice ball down, and took his hand, holding it in her own two. She looked directly at  
>him, and smiled gently. He turned slightly toward her, and sighed. After a moment, he forced himself to smile slightly. He<br>wouldn't let some boy ruin his life, that was for sure.

"Thanks," he responded.

"No problem," she smiled. "I've got your back."

She pulled him into a hug, holding him against her chest. As she placed her face in the crook of his neck, she could  
>smell his sweet shampoo. It smelled lovely, and she smiled softly - a barely noticeable curve of the lips. She let her eyes<br>slip shut as she felt his hands on her back.

He closed his eyes as well, thinking about the small boy that had plagued his dreams the night prior. He thought about  
>holding his hand, and sharing Topsicles with him. He thought about kissing those soft lips, and holding him just the way he<br>was holding Yukiko.

And Yukiko... Yukiko was thinking about those same things. She was imagining those exact same things, except with one  
>small difference: the one she was thinking about was already in her arms. A small, limpid tear rolled lazily down each<br>person's cheek, as Yukiko laughed nervously at her thoughts.

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><p><em><strong>And hello again! Gosh, that was sort of a heavy chapter, wasn't it? Well, if you enjoyed it, please make sure to review. If you hated it, make sure to review and flame me. If you feel completely indifferent to this chapter, or didn't read it at all, please make sure to leave me a review! Hee hee! :B<strong>_

_**Oh, also, I'm not sure if my other story has been posted yet, but if it has, make sure to check that out! It's called **__**Completely Solitary**__**, and it is a fic for 999. If you haven't yet played/watched that game, I highly recommend it. It's an amazing game, and this fic will contain spoilers for the game, so look out! The pairing is Clover/Junpei, which I don't really ship, but whatever. In case you want a nice LP for this game, I recommend **__**kaisap112**__**. Wonderful LPer indeed. Anyway, I will see you later. Kisses!**_

_**Love, always.**_

_**Keeping Hope :3**_


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